Time With God
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.
*Bend Your ear to me and listen to my words, O Eternal One; hear the deep cry of my heart.
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
*Listen to my call for help, my King, my True God; to You alone I pray.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
*In the morning, O Eternal One, listen for my voice; in the day’s first light, I will offer my prayer to You and watch expectantly for Your answer.
-Psalm 5:1-3 (KJV, *VOICE)
You woke up in the morning, rested or not rested. Your life is before you, starting with today. If you are a coffee drinker, you will turn your machine on and begin to make your first cup. It might be light or dark out. You might be the first one up, or your home may already have the sounds of the ones who awoke before you.
It does not matter if you have a farm or live in the White House. You have a life and there is God, who hears your prayers. But for God to hear, you must pray.
If we are believers in God, then we will naturally want to talk to the Lord. There is something missing, if you do not have a desire to pray.
This psalm starts out with a call to God to listen or hear, The King James says, "Give ear" and The Voice Translation says, "Bend Your ear", which I like. The idea is that the psalmist is saying, "Turn your listening attention to my words, Lord".
God is not like a human, with a limited attention span and many distractions. But, being human, we speak to God in human terms. Someone might even say, "Are you listening to me?", to God. Of course God hears, but we feel like he does not sometimes, because of our experience down here.
These opening words are instructions (how to pray) and intimate pages, from David's prayer journal. David, being a pioneer in prayer and worship, sets the example for how to pray. I am fond of the KJV of Psalm 5, because I know the song, based on these words.
Your meditation is not an obsession. An obsession is a thought you are preoccupied with. If that thought is something that is not true, honorable, right, pure, admirable, or lovely (Phil. 4:8); then it might be a bondage that needs to be broken off you.
Your mediation is the sighing, groaning, rumbling cry of your heart. Sighing, groaning, rumbling, and crying is completely inarticulate. We can sing Psalm 5:1-3, together, but it is not the best instruction or model for public prayer. In other words, this psalm is about intimate prayers between you and God.
You open the door to prayer with God, by beginning. You find a place to pray. Then you pour out your heart to him. That looks different to different people.
You share your mediation with God. What that means is that you open the door of your heart and let it flow. Meditation (Judeo-Christian) is inarticulate, according to David, here in Psalm 5.
So when we share our hearts with God, they key is in the sharing, the intimacy. "Consider my meditation", means, "Let me tell you what is on my heart". It might be what is bothering you, what you are hoping for, or what you are worried about.
Meditation also means rumination or contemplation or reflecting or considering. In prayer, we share these with God. Don't go it alone. We say, "Lord, this is what I am concerned about."
Your concerns, thoughts, or considerations may very well be inarticulate. Just opening up to God is the point of prayer, because it is about your relationship to God and it is about your heart.
Does prayer, my prayers change God or me? I used to think that prayer molds me to God's (settled) will. Now, I believe that the Bible teaches that God is moved by prayer and makes moves based on our prayers. God actually can not or chooses not to do certain (many) things, if we do not pray to him about them.
Whether I pray or not, God still loves me. That is settled and does not change. But something changes, in me and in my circumstances, when I bring my heart to God.
When I let God into my inarticulate or articulate thoughts, worries, ruminations, and reflections; I am not only unburdened, but I am letting him know me and be my partner. Relationship with God takes intentionality, just like any relationship.
The lesson, or take-away, here, for me, that I want to share, is this: The point of prayer time, talking to God time, spending time alone with God; is intimacy (into-me-see). The whole point is letting him know you. That's devotions.
Your devotions might be Bible reading, journaling, crafting crafted prayers, listening, or talking to God, to get something off your chest. Whatever you do, whatever your style, whatever season you are in; the main thing is intimacy. Are you getting to know God and letting God know you?
Psalm 5, verses 1-3, are about letting God know you. Let him know you. Don't fall into the trap, that says that since he is God, he already knows me. Believe me, he wants you to open your heart and let him intimately know you. That verse in Revelation, "I stand at the door and knock", is written for Christians, not the world.
The point of prayer is not to pray well, as in beautiful or clear speech to God. You have not failed. And the point of prayer is not to receive a clear word, a word or a sentence or more, from God. You have not failed. The point of prayer is relationship with God, to spend time with him, and to open your heart and let yourself get his heart.
__________________________________________________
This article might help you: Biblical Meditation, by J. Hampton Keathley III
*Bend Your ear to me and listen to my words, O Eternal One; hear the deep cry of my heart.
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
*Listen to my call for help, my King, my True God; to You alone I pray.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
*In the morning, O Eternal One, listen for my voice; in the day’s first light, I will offer my prayer to You and watch expectantly for Your answer.
-Psalm 5:1-3 (KJV, *VOICE)
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| Photo credit: Pixabay |
You woke up in the morning, rested or not rested. Your life is before you, starting with today. If you are a coffee drinker, you will turn your machine on and begin to make your first cup. It might be light or dark out. You might be the first one up, or your home may already have the sounds of the ones who awoke before you.
It does not matter if you have a farm or live in the White House. You have a life and there is God, who hears your prayers. But for God to hear, you must pray.
If we are believers in God, then we will naturally want to talk to the Lord. There is something missing, if you do not have a desire to pray.
Give ear to my words O Lord
This psalm starts out with a call to God to listen or hear, The King James says, "Give ear" and The Voice Translation says, "Bend Your ear", which I like. The idea is that the psalmist is saying, "Turn your listening attention to my words, Lord".
God is not like a human, with a limited attention span and many distractions. But, being human, we speak to God in human terms. Someone might even say, "Are you listening to me?", to God. Of course God hears, but we feel like he does not sometimes, because of our experience down here.
These opening words are instructions (how to pray) and intimate pages, from David's prayer journal. David, being a pioneer in prayer and worship, sets the example for how to pray. I am fond of the KJV of Psalm 5, because I know the song, based on these words.
Consider my meditationI feel like every time that the word "mediation" comes up, I have to mention that there is authentic Judeo-Christian meditation, that is referenced here. The Hebrew word for mediation could be translated "sighing", or "groaning". As The Voice translation puts it, it means "deep cry of my heart". Your meditation is that thought you are chewing on, mulling over.
Your meditation is not an obsession. An obsession is a thought you are preoccupied with. If that thought is something that is not true, honorable, right, pure, admirable, or lovely (Phil. 4:8); then it might be a bondage that needs to be broken off you.
Your mediation is the sighing, groaning, rumbling cry of your heart. Sighing, groaning, rumbling, and crying is completely inarticulate. We can sing Psalm 5:1-3, together, but it is not the best instruction or model for public prayer. In other words, this psalm is about intimate prayers between you and God.
You open the door to prayer with God, by beginning. You find a place to pray. Then you pour out your heart to him. That looks different to different people.
You share your mediation with God. What that means is that you open the door of your heart and let it flow. Meditation (Judeo-Christian) is inarticulate, according to David, here in Psalm 5.
So when we share our hearts with God, they key is in the sharing, the intimacy. "Consider my meditation", means, "Let me tell you what is on my heart". It might be what is bothering you, what you are hoping for, or what you are worried about.
Meditation also means rumination or contemplation or reflecting or considering. In prayer, we share these with God. Don't go it alone. We say, "Lord, this is what I am concerned about."
Your concerns, thoughts, or considerations may very well be inarticulate. Just opening up to God is the point of prayer, because it is about your relationship to God and it is about your heart.
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.David repeats that he wants God to listen to his voice. We know God hears and we know God listens, but on an inarticulate, feeling level, we need to express this. And these words are from someone who gets it, that it is a good idea to talk to God.
Does prayer, my prayers change God or me? I used to think that prayer molds me to God's (settled) will. Now, I believe that the Bible teaches that God is moved by prayer and makes moves based on our prayers. God actually can not or chooses not to do certain (many) things, if we do not pray to him about them.
Whether I pray or not, God still loves me. That is settled and does not change. But something changes, in me and in my circumstances, when I bring my heart to God.
When I let God into my inarticulate or articulate thoughts, worries, ruminations, and reflections; I am not only unburdened, but I am letting him know me and be my partner. Relationship with God takes intentionality, just like any relationship.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.I need to be with God in the morning, or my whole day does not go well. I have heard other people share, who are like me, say this; but for others, it is not as crucial. So, you have to discern if this is how your design functions or not.
The lesson, or take-away, here, for me, that I want to share, is this: The point of prayer time, talking to God time, spending time alone with God; is intimacy (into-me-see). The whole point is letting him know you. That's devotions.
Your devotions might be Bible reading, journaling, crafting crafted prayers, listening, or talking to God, to get something off your chest. Whatever you do, whatever your style, whatever season you are in; the main thing is intimacy. Are you getting to know God and letting God know you?
Psalm 5, verses 1-3, are about letting God know you. Let him know you. Don't fall into the trap, that says that since he is God, he already knows me. Believe me, he wants you to open your heart and let him intimately know you. That verse in Revelation, "I stand at the door and knock", is written for Christians, not the world.
The point of prayer is not to pray well, as in beautiful or clear speech to God. You have not failed. And the point of prayer is not to receive a clear word, a word or a sentence or more, from God. You have not failed. The point of prayer is relationship with God, to spend time with him, and to open your heart and let yourself get his heart.
__________________________________________________
This article might help you: Biblical Meditation, by J. Hampton Keathley III
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